


Protecting Paradise

by MeredithBrody



Category: Star Trek: Enterprise
Genre: F/M, Season 3 companion
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-18
Updated: 2013-12-28
Packaged: 2017-12-23 21:27:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 22,626
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/931269
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MeredithBrody/pseuds/MeredithBrody
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Xindi attacked Earth, and Enterprise is sent to destroy the weapon. But not everything on Earth is as rosy as they would like to act. The longer Enterprise is gone the further civic unrest, xenophobia and the worst parts of human nature are displayed. Starfleet and her allies need to try to help calm the public and remind them that Enterprise is working for their safety. All the while trying to keep their faith in humanity and in themselves.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story was inspired by a drabble that will no doubt be used as the beginning of one of these chapters. I'm not going to pretend this will be updated regularly, but I'm hoping it will be. I think this is a story that needs telling.

"Bridge to Commander Hernandez." Were the first words Erika Hernandez heard, and she wondered how many times she had ignored the call before finally rousing enough to answer the comm. She hadn't had much chance to sleep since the Rigellian raid on Deneva, so getting a full night's sleep seemed impossible. The _Republic_ was in high demand at the moment it seemed, and she was just getting used to that idea.

"Go ahead, Sam." She replied, sitting up and already looking around for her undershirt, not seeing the point of wasting a clean uniform on what was likely to be another negotiation call that the crew did want to bother the Captain with. He had had possibly less sleep than she had, and she wasn't going to force him into it if she didn't need to.

"Captain Jennings wants you in his dining room in ten minutes. He's called a senior staff briefing." Sam replied, and Erika blinked a little in the direction of the wall panel, wondering if she was actually imagining this call. She didn't remember the last time he had called a staff briefing at this time of night.

"Can you confirm that Sam. It's 3am?" She asked, just wanting to hear the clarification. It worried her that there was a briefing now. Something must have happened, and her mind immediately went to the worst case scenario. A declaration of war or something happening to _Enterprise_. Both would be catastrophes for Starfleet, _Enterprise_ was sent out to explore and discover, and she had a personal stake in the ship surviving and making it home. She sincerely hoped that wasn't the reason they were being woken at this time of the night.

"Yes Commander, the Captain's mess in now 8 minutes." Sam said and closed the channel off, no doubt to wake the rest of the senior staff. She was too preoccupied to think what else she could do, so just pulled her uniform on and slowly made her way to the mess. She walked in to the chatter of the senior officer all talking at once, turning to her and asking what was going on. All she could do was hold her hands up until there was silence in the room.

"To answer your questions, no, I don't have an idea of what the Captain wants us all for. I can't help but think that some of your theories might be on the nose, but I don't know for certain and that's the important thing, isn't it." She shook her head and motioned them all into seats, trying to keep them in line as they waited on the Captain. Erika still couldn't help but think that this was something awful, and that they would be seeing Earth quicker than they had expected.

She was still thinking silently, half listening to the theories being bandied around the table, not wanting to think about most of them. She just wanted it to be a false alarm, and the Captain would come into the room and tell them to go back to work. When she looked up to see Jennings walking through the door she could see on his face that something had happened. The staff were all still preoccupied with their theories, and hadn't noticed him taking his place, so she looked at him from the opposite end of the table as she normally sat. "What, what is it?"

"There has been an attack on Earth." Jennings said with all the gravity that pronouncement required, and she felt her mouth drop open. There wasn't much she could think in response to that statement except worry about her family, and she was certain everyone else in the room was in the same position. "They don't have any estimates yet, and Admiral Black didn't want to speculate. I know we're all worried now, but we are going to run silent until we get to Earth space. Every Starfleet ship has been recalled." He announced, and Erika nodded, while the questions from the other officers began she just wanted to know the important questions, but it was clear that Jennings, and probably Starfleet, didn't yet have the answers, and running silent was certainly a good plan. _Republic_ was only three weeks from Earth, they'd probably be home before a lot of the final announcements were given. Yes it would require a few weeks of worry for the crew, but it would no doubt be the best thing for all of them. "Erika, I want you to take the bridge while I clear up what I can before we go dark." She nodded in his direction as she listened to the other orders given, still in a state of shock.

"Erika, hey. Wait up." She heard called from behind her, and it was enough to bring Erika out of her state of shocked introspection. Veronica caught up to her easily and slowed her pace to match. "I'm going to come and take the helm for a while since I've been ordered to turn us back to Earth." Erika nodded a little, still not really sure what to say. Her mind light years away with her family back home. She just continued walking allowing Veronica to talk to herself as she did, her internal thoughts keeping her busy. It wasn't until she realised Veronica had paused the turbolift and turned to her that Erika realised she was being uncharacteristically quiet. "What's bugging you?"

"You mean beside an attack on our home?" Erika asked sarcastically, already knowing that Veronica wasn't going to buy that reason. She never did, and she was one of only three people in the universe who knew her well enough to know what really bothered her in this situation. "I'm worried about my mom, and about Simon and his family. And your family."

"I'm not worried about my family, they live in New Zealand, what is there to attack in New Zealand. We're a land of mountains, earthquakes and rugby." Veronica joked, and Erika had to smile. She had to admit, an attack on New Zealand did seem unlikely. But some of the larger continents were surely targets, and they were what Erika worried about. Considering her family was on one of those larger continents. "You know that the odds of them hitting your hometown are remote. The Captain couldn't even confirm where was hit, just that it was an orbital strike." Veronica tried to bolster her spirits and it did seem to be working a little, at least she felt a little more like she could focus on her job.

"Thanks, Ronnie." She muttered and took a deep breath. Ready to look as commanding as she needed too when sitting in the centre seat. It wasn't worth her pretending that Veronica didn't already know the second thing that was on her mind. "I'm not going to pretend I'm not worried about Jonathan either." Her head dropped to her chest at that admission, and Veronica just reached out and squeezed her shoulder.

"How long is it since you two broke up?" She asked, the sympathy in her voice made Erika shudder a little. After a few seconds she shook herself back into answering Veronica's question instead of the dwelling on what could be going on light years away.

"Just gone three years this last Christmas." It probably wasn't so healthy that Jon was still on her mind when she thought about the length of time it had been since they broke up. She couldn't help it, he had been such a large part of her life, and they were still friends. If Enterprise had been recalled, maybe they'd have chance to put their heads together to solve the crisis as they had so many times.

"Doesn't seem that long." Veronica said and squeezed Erika's shoulder again. The brief contact reminding Erika that she wasn't alone for this. "I think we'd have heard by now if something had happened to _Enterprise_." Her voice dropped again, and Erika just nodded then wiped her eyes. Taking a deep breath and squaring her shoulders, switching back to Commander Hernandez, the professional Starfleet officer.

"You're right. OK. Game face. Let's keep this between us." She muttered. Knowing a second later that it always had been. She and Veronica were rarely officers when they were alone together. She made a mental note to have her to her quarters that night to toast to something. She didn't know what. But she was due a night off, and with them flying a straight course she might finally get it.

"Always, we'll figure it out Erika, we always do." Veronica said an instant before the turbolift opened at the back of the busy Bridge. Erika took her place in the centre seat, giving the order for them to proceed back to Earth at warp 2.3, their highest rated speed. It was an odd order for her to give, and the questioning looks of the junior officers who hadn't yet been briefed reminded Erika that soon all these people would be as worried for their families as she was. Soon. Something was burning, and there wasn't much she could do to put the fire out.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it seems like ages since I've posted/updated. The West Wing ate me. I am 4 episodes from the end now though, so hopefully I'll be back in the swing of things soon. Feel like I need a season three rewatch though. ANYWAY. Here we go. Chapter 2

After the last few weeks this was a meeting that Admiral Maxwell Forrest was looking forward too. There was only so much bad news he could cope with, and so much was coming forward, so the little amount of good he could find he was going to focus on. So he had set up this meeting, just to take the temperature of his choice.

He knew it wasn't a foregone conclusion, none of the choices were, but he knew this choice, and she was his first choice. He was going to fight for her, since it was about time that she was given the chance. Erika Hernandez had an outstanding service record, and she definitely had the personality to be a Captain. She had occasionally been too timid when she'd first started on the NX programme, but 10 years with 4 pilots had taught her to be louder about her input, and now nobody could fault her attitude. As if sensing his thoughts, she knocked and looked round the corner of his office door. He smiled and waved her in.

"Come in commander."

"It's nice to see you again admiral." She smiled as she shook his hand. He studied her again for a moment then sat down. He remembered the first time they'd done this, when he'd been interviewing choices for the NX Programme, she'd been much younger then, and much more nervous. Once they'd spoken she'd been the only choice, and for the last 13 years he'd been proud to call her a friend. He motioned to the seat opposite him before he spoke again.

"You too Erika. Take a seat."

"Thank you sir. Captain Jennings said you wanted to speak to me."

"How do you think about finally getting that rank before your name?" He asked, maybe a little more cryptically than he'd originally intended. He had always known that Erika was philosophical about rank promotion, and she wouldn't tell him she wanted it. He'd have to guess from her body language. She played things close to her chest at the best of times, and he wasn’t sure this counted.

"Sir?" She asked, clearly not catching his meaning. He was going to have to spell it out, and maybe that was the way it was best. Then there could be no claims of a misunderstanding between them.

"Captaincy, Erika.” He smiled, and now he was glad she had taken the seat he’d offered, as he had a feeling if she hadn’t he’d have been picking her up off the floor. He waited a beat or two before continuing, needing to know she was paying attention again. “Feel you're ready for it?"

"Of which ship?" Erika asked a second later, once she’d managed to pick her jaw off the floor. Maybe he should have tried making a little more small talk, but they were both busy, and he had wanted to get her opinion, and to reassure himself of things before he brought it up with the rest of the Admirals. Asking which ship was surely the best indication he was going to finally have a candidate to present.

"The NX-02."

"AG's ship." She muttered and looked to the floor. He fought an urge to tut at her, even though he understood what she was saying. Everyone had assumed the 02 going to AG had been a foregone conclusion, and it probably had been, but it had never been his ship, and it certainly wasn’t still his ship.

"You can't think of her that way.” He said after a respectful moment of silence, while he knew that she couldn’t focus on it being AG’s ship, he also knew that she was still mourning her friend, it had only been a few months. The simple fact was, that he wanted her for the ship, and he was certain he could talk the others around to it. “If I have my way, she's your ship."

"Really sir?" She asked, and he couldn’t help but smile at that. The one thing that had continually come up when Erika’s name had been brought up had been that she often forgot her own merit. He was sure that if someone showed some faith in her on her own choices that would be a thing of the past. That had been proven to him again and again.

"You've been a commander for a decade, your longest time at any rank I believe?"

"Yes, ‘43 was my last promotion."

"I remember, I gave it to you.” He smirked a little, especially when he noticed the slight blush on Erika’s cheeks, he was almost immediately reminded of all the other times they had managed to tease Erika to blushing over the years she’d been on one of his teams. He had been proud to give all of his officers their promotions, and that was still how he looked on the NX officers, _his_ officers. “Just like I gave the rest of my NX team. You're the only one left who hasn't gotten a command. Jon's got _Enterprise_ , Sam's an internal Captain, Duvall has his ship. Yet you're left as the commander on the _Republic_." He tried to keep the contempt out of his voice, but he knew she could do better, and it was his job now, surely to convince her of that.

It appeared that Erika caught the tone in his voice, and he should have known, she was one of the most gifted ears he’d ever met. A few years in the command ranks wasn’t going to have stopped that. "The _Republic_ is a good ship sir, and Captain Jennings is a good captain."

"That he is. But are you ready to hand the XO over."

She paused another few minutes before she nodded vigorously. "I think I am." She affirmed a second later, and it was the most animated he could remember seeing her in a while, not that he had had all that much to do with her since the end of the NX project.

"You realise this would require you working closely with Jonathan again?" He needed to point that out knowing about this history the two of them had, and remembering how both of them had struggled initially when they had ending things. He knew that not that many people knew about their history, so that wasn't going to be an issue in getting her selected for the ship, but it was something anyone who had known them both back then would worry about.

"That wouldn't be a problem." Erika answered almost immediately, and Forrest had to wonder if she was just saying that, or if she just didn’t think working with Jon would be an issue. Or maybe she hadn’t thought it through. He’d have to ask her again in a few weeks.

"For the record, Erika. I'll be your high level support, but I already know that Captain Jennings agrees with me. He thinks you'd be perfect for the 02.” He wondered if knowing her current CO was behind his decision to approach her would make her feel less like she was going behind his back. Almost immediately there was a shift in Erika’s body language, and she became more open than she’d been since he’d asked her if she was ready to be a Captain. There were still a lot of things that he’d have to argue for and against. “There are plenty of people who disagree with us, but I'm going to bat for you. I have considerable pull."

"I know that sir you always have gone to bat for your former crew, Jonathan is the proof of that." She smiled a little, and he could still see the pride in her eyes. He wondered briefly if things were as in the past as she’d like for him to believe, but he didn’t see the need to press her, not right now at least. Jon was the proof that he was right to bat for his officers, not the other way around.

"He's proven me right, and I'm certain that you would too.” He sighed and looked at her seriously, knowing what she needed to hear. “We both know that AG was the popular choice for the 02, and maybe it's crass that we're already having to discuss his successor from a ship that was never confirmed as his. But I want it to go to you."

"I'm ready for it, Admiral."

"I'm glad to hear it Erika. Are you back to _Republic_ tonight?" He asked, almost certain that she would be. When he’d spoken to Jennings the day before he seemed to remember the word ‘leave’ being bandied about. He Had seemed happy enough to leave his ship in Erika’s hands, yet another plus in her column.

"Yes sir, Captain Jennings wants to spend a few nights with his wife, I told him I'd take the watch."

"Who is in command up there right now?" He asked, he’d always been sketchy on who the second officer on _Republic_ was. Jennings had commanded her since she was built, but he had worked through 6 XOs if Erika got the 02, and Forrest wondered if it would be a promotion from within or whether Jennings would be searching around again.

"Lieutenant Fletcher or Lieutenant Harries. We already had this meeting planned or I'd have stayed on the ship." That was something he could respect. Often the hardest thing a Captain had to learn was delegation, but it seemed Erika had that down already. He smiled to himself a little, hoping that meant it was something else he wouldn’t have to teach her. "I’ll have my own staff if I got the ship. I wonder how many of Jon's staff I can tempt." She smirked, and Forrest had to admit he liked that even separated his old staff were the same, and often mentioned teasing each other.

"Don't steal too many of them.” He warned, only half jokingly. He was certain that if she got the ship her first thing would be to send all the NX-01 crew an offer, mostly symbolic, but he was certain she’d get a few bites that way. Officers ready and hoping for a promotion. He shook his had rather than comment further and turned his attention back to sending her back to _Republic_. “Get yourself back to your position Erika. We'll speak again about this."

"Yes sir, thank you." She smiled and turned on her heel, leaving quicker than he’d expected. He watched her go then sat back to think. There was simply nobody else in the fleet with Erika’s experience in the frame to take the command. Not one person in the administration could argue that with him. A commander with 10 years experience was unheard of, and he wondered why Erika had never been offered something before. Maybe she’d been biding her time to see what AG was going to do with the 02. He couldn’t answer that, but he could say that as of now, she was the frontrunner for the ship, and there was no-one who could compete.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK I'm sorry this is really slow going. Likely to get even slower. I'm only cranking out chapters when I'm feeling inspired for them and that hasn't been much lately.

The bridge of the _Republic_ was quieter than it usually was. Maybe it was the number of crew out on leave still, or maybe it was just that they were in dock, and nothing was expected to happen. In fact, since she had returned from her meeting at command she had managed to have the entire debate with herself three times. Internal debates had been her speciality since high school, and apparently in the 19 years since her graduation she hadn't lost her touch. She was still mulling it all over when she felt eyes on her. She looked up and met the dark eyes of Veronica Fletcher, and instantly Erika knew she was in for a grilling. She rolled her eyes almost the minute she saw Veronica open her mouth, readying herself.

"So you had a meeting with Forrest?" She asked, and Erika debated whether or not she should play dumb, or be honest with her friend. Maybe Veronica would be able to help her get it straight in her mind. That was something she definitely needed. A middle of the road approach might work better. At least then if Veronica wasn't actually interested, she wouldn't have left too much open.

"Yeah. This morning." She nodded, taking a PADD off a passing ensign, and wondering if she had done enough already to put Veronica off, she had no such luck, and in fact had clearly convinced Veronica that there was more going on that she had thought originally.

"What did he want?" Veronica asked, and it was obvious that she was more interested than she had originally been.

Veronica's eyes lit up, and maybe she had already figured it out. So she sighed and rolled her head back, already giving up on playing it cool. "To give me a job offer."

"What kind of offer?"

Erika stood up and stepped down to the pilots console so that they could have a relatively private conversation. She knew that it needed to be as it is now, she wanted to try and keep it as quiet as she could. "The NX-02."

"Wait, really. They have picked a captain?" Veronica asked, not giving away anything, but Erika was certain that her sneaky friend already knew what she was implying. She hated that her best friend was playing this and making her guess at it.

"He wants me as Captain." She shook her head and smiled a little sarcastically, trying not to think about what Forrest had tried to convince her of. "Thinks I've languished at commander for too long." She smiled again and shook her head, Veronica however started looking confused and clearly thinking.

"How long have you even been a commander, I've known you 7 years and you've been a commander the whole time?"

"A little over 10 years." She nodded, and at that she realised that maybe Forrest had been right. Ten years was a long time at one rank, no matter what rank. She could feel herself beginning to debate with herself again and shook herself out of it. "I was promoted after a couple years on the NX Programme"

"2143!?" Veronica exclaimed and shook her head with another grin. "Then yeah, you should get a command. I mean the rest of the NX programme tier one have a command." That idea worried her probably more than it should have.

"Besides AG." She muttered, reminded that she wasn't the only one who didn't have a command, but the other couldn't be remedied at all. It hadn't stopped her saying it though.

"That's not fair Erika and you know it." Veronica groaned, and she shook her head. Reminding her that she wasn't being fair. She shook her head and tried not to look as bad as she suddenly felt. Veronica reached out and squeezed her arm with a smile. "AG was a Captain, and he was holding out for the NX-02. He'd want you to have it."

She thought of that, and then she frowned again. Remembering the other thing that she'd been debating herself about. The lie, or at least the untruth she'd said. "I told Forrest that my relationship with Jon wouldn't affect me if I was given the ship."

"And?" Veronica asked with a blink, clearly not understanding exactly what she was saying.

"I think I lied."

"You and Jon have been over a while, you could probably be friends again now." Veronica said, and that was almost definitely an issue in her mind. She didn't think that she had that chance, while she was sure that would be a problem, it was that she would want more. She knew she would. That was the problem.

"We were always friends. I don't know if I could work closely with him and not want to be with him. Know what I mean?"

"You won't be working that closely though, not really." Veronica said, and it only took a moment for her to decide that maybe Veronica was right there. They would be on different ships, going in different directions, and a couple of calls a week was hardly going to destroy her. She was about to say as much when Veronica started again. "Either way you're being stupid. You've never been less than professional, even at the height of your relationship."

"You're right." She grinned, allowing herself to feel a little calmer. Veronica was right, and she should have figured that out. "I guess this level of quiet gives me too much time to think. I know we're here for a good reason, but I can't help but wish we were back out on runs to the colonies." She sighed and stood up again, allowing them to have a more public conversation, and meaning the two ensigns on the bridge could stop pretending not to be eavesdropping.

"I know what you mean, no need for a pilot on a ship in dock." Veronica moaned, and Erika tried to avoid laughing, almost certain that that would just spur Veronica on to complain more.

"Commander, we're getting a comm from the _Intrepid_." One of the aforementioned ensigns called out, and Erika looked over at her, shaking her head with a grin. She was certain that something might be going on for the _Intrepid_ to be calling this late in the evening.

"Put him up.” She ordered, turning around to face the screen as one of her former colleagues cam on the screen. She’d gone on a date with him while she’d been an ensign on the Lovell and had decided that he was boring. She’d left before dessert. She was still pretty sure he remembered that reason for turning down a second date. “Captain Ramirez." She said politely, not giving anything away.

"Didn't expect to see you there Hernandez, Jennings around?" He asked, and she narrowed her eyes, not really appreciating the tone that Ramirez was using against her. She decided to continue being extra polite, rather than letting him have the satisfaction of knowing he’d gotten to her.

"No sir, he's taking his leave day."

"OK then, you're with me. One of our monitoring stations out by Pluto caught _Enterprise_ on sensors, they've got company. We're going to be an official welcoming party." While she was glad to know that Enterprise was almost home safe, she wasn’t really looking forward to having to listen to Ramirez.

"When are we going sir?" She asked, more out of politeness than any need to know. It was obvious they were going to leave straight away, but

"Now."

"Yes sir." She muttered as the screen went dark. She had never been a fan of being cut off, even less so when she was in the middle of saying something. She was certain that maybe in the end she’d do better with not having to speak to him.

"Have I ever mentioned he's a dickbag." Veronica said before anyone had really had a chance to react, and Erika grinned, squeezing Veronica’s shoulder as she did.

"I dated him once. Only once.” She clarified, hoping that explained at least half of his attitude, but that brief conversation had reminded her why she was worried about working closely with Jon again. She shrugged it off and went back to her duty. “Follow them out, lets all go save Jonathan's butt." She smiled as Veronica turned round to her and shrugged gently, "yeah, OK. It feels nice to say that."

"I said nothing." Veronica grinned then turned back to her console and set out after the two other intrepid-class ships. Erika shook her head gently as she settled back into the chair, her own words to Ramirez reminding her that she had been in the command ranks as long as many of the Captains she served with, in fact she'd been at the same promotion ceremony as Ramirez when they'd been promoted to commander more than a decade earlier. Forrest was probably right, maybe she had shied away from a promotion because she'd been waiting to see what AG was going to do on the NX-02. Now though, she would be the one in charge of that ship, and she was ready for it, if that was the direction command went.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry you've all had to wait ages for this. This story is now, finally, finished. So I will update daily until I've done it all. OK!!!

The office was too quiet today, everyone giving him a wide berth. He had been particularly snappy since Jonathan had proposed his ridiculous mission to find the Xindi weapon. While he had accepted Jon's premise that if they were running a test they were likely ready or nearly ready to deploy their main event, he would still have rather Enterprise waited for the NX-02.

He understood that Jon probably wouldn't have waited even if the ship was a week from launch, when he got an idea he was going to see it through, and he would do it sooner rather than later. It was an admirable trait, most of the time, but on occasion it was hard to stomach and he found himself struggling to order against his decisions. There was much to dislike Jonathan Archer about, his dedication to duty and his patriotism were not among them. That was possibly what was making this worse, he knew that Jon still had plenty to offer. He couldn't offer it if he and his ship were destroyed.

"Are you contemplating Enterprise's mission?" Came an unexpected voice from the doorway, causing Forrest to turn and study his friend Ambassador Soval. He hadn't even heard the door open, that was how distracted he was. Forrest took a few steps further into the room and closed the door behind him. In his experience that had never ended well, but since this topic was classified it was just good sense. "It is an ill-advised mission. We both agree to that."

"However ill-advised it may be, it may also be Earth's only chance. We can't build enough ships in the timeframe Jonathan was given." Forrest knew full well what Soval thought of Jonathan's information, gained from the mysterious benefactor of the Suliban. So far it was all checking out, and based on empirical evidence alone, Jon was batting 100%. "I know you're sceptical Ambassador, but I have to trust the evidence in front of my eyes, and that evidence is in favour of the mission."

"You trust this information Captain Archer claims he received from the future?" Soval asked, the sarcasm not so well disguised. It didn't matter at the moment how it had worked out, sarcasm was generally the first inkling that Soval was coming around to their way of thinking. After several years of working together he had learnt Soval's quirks.

"I do. I've known Jonathan Archer a long time. Long enough to trust that his judgement is on the money in this case." That was certainly true, he had known Jon for close to two decades, and while he had made some questionable choices he had never given Forrest a reason not to trust him. He trusted the information and Jon's interpretation of it implicitly.

"The Vulcan Science Directorate has determined that time travel is impossible" Soval said, his voice raising ever so slightly in the way that had come to symbolise annoyance. It was a little amusing for Forrest to see exactly how far he could push some days, today was not one of them, but he was getting the show regardless.

"The Science Directorate may need to adjust their position, you saw those results, got the same results on your own scanners." He had seen the reactions to that news in the hangar, and it would be hard for anyone to say that they hadn't terrified the Vulcans in the room. It was all a matter of belief, and where that belief led them. "I'm willing to risk a single a ship of volunteers for the protection of Earth. While I appreciate your input in this, it's a Starfleet matter, and the decision is made."

"You are making a grave mistake. The Expanse is as dangerous, unpredictable and unexplored region." Soval argued, finally giving Forrest a reason to smile. That was something that Starfleet was definitely prepared for.

"Even in this situation, Ambassador, we're explorers, it's a Starfleet officer's duty to seek out new life. Now just as much as it is any other day." He said, and could almost hear Soval grinding his teeth from across the room. Forrest turned back to the screen and expected to hear the opening of the door as he left, instead the Ambassador stepped up beside him.

"I will prepare the Enterprise crew as best I can."

"Thank you." He replied honestly. Whether Jon would heed the assistance was another matter.

"On a related note, I was informed that you are sponsoring Commander Hernandez for the Captaincy of the NX-02?" Soval asked, and this time it was Forrest's turn to sigh with annoyance. He wasn't in the mood for another argument about his command candidates.

"I am, she's a skilled and dedicated officer who has been the second for too long. I remember the reservations you had about Captain Archer."

"I do not have the same concerns about Erika Hernandez." Soval stated and Forrest felt his mouth drop slightly as he did. He hoped that the questioning look he was giving episode be enough for Soval to explain how he knew Hernandez. Sure enough a second later he inclined his head slightly and continued. "I in fact believe I have known her longer than you have. She was a student in my first year diplomatic relations class. She wasn't a good studier, but she had exotic and unexpected ideas. I gave her an A. She would be a good choice for your next ship."

The ringing endorsement of a senior Vulcan was something no other Captain had had, and he had to make sure that was noted in her file. "I'll add you to the list of her supporters. She's become the front runner in the race, purely on her experience. She has a number of high ranking supporters. I am confident in saying that ship will be hers."

"I am pleased by that. Good day admiral."

"Same to you, Ambassador." Forrest said as he watched the Vulcan leave. He couldn't help but stop then look up Hernandez's STC records. While he had no reason to doubt Soval, he had just never really looked at her record, and it was better than planning another strategy meeting with Jonathan and the Starfleet senior staff. He had too much on his plate for now, but life had to go on.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I may have posted this previously as a oneshot (before I realised where it fit) or I might not. I'm not sure.

He hadn't seen her in such a long time, but he knew that this might be the last chance he had. He had been given two days, the same two days his volunteer crew had been given, to wrap up any loose ends they had that needed to be dealt with. He hadn't had many. He'd spoken to his mother on the first day, and that had been hard, but not as hard as this was going to be. He already knew that much.

In his 42 years in this universe he had only truly loved one woman. He had thought he'd loved others, but when he had finally taken a chance on Erika and she'd taken the chance on him, he had realised how wrong he'd been. He and Erika had never had a problem with loving one another, for them both the timing had always been off. But this time he knew that he couldn't risk not telling her that he was still crazy about her. That he still loved her, and that he wanted her to know that before he left.

His entire crew had accepted the likelihood that they wouldn't make it back to Earth after this mission, but he knew that to him it didn't matter. Earth continuing was what mattered most, and if he did his duty and protected his planet, then it was worth giving up his life in the name of. He just didn't want to go and not tell Erika how he felt. He'd assumed at first that she would be on assignment, he'd known that the Republic had left a few days earlier on a short supply run to Vulcan, but he had learnt that she'd stayed behind to attending the briefings instead of Captain Jennings. Her personnel file had said she still lived in the same building, the building they'd lived in together. He remembered every inch of that apartment, he wasn't sure if he'd ever forget it.

He arrived on her doorstep, and pressed the buzzer. He knew it was late, knew she was possibly asleep or getting ready for the next day, but he was still there, still just hoping that she was going to listen to him, and let him tell her that she was important.

"Jonathan?" She asked when she made it down the two flights of stairs from her apartment to the door. She clearly hadn't gotten the buzzer fixed in the last 8 years since he'd broken it, maybe she just didn't want too, there were good memories associated with that broken buzzer. He smiled as she stepped back and let him past her. He hovered on the side of the door as she stepped back around him and turned the light off again.

"Hi. Sorry it's so late." He said, following her as she started up the stairs. He knew this climb as well as he did the one in his own apartment building. He had live here for three years, and they were three of the best years he could think of.

Erika shook her head as she kicked her door open again then stopped, turning around to face him. "No, come in. I was just getting ready for bed." She motioned to the actually-clean room, and he wasn't sure what she was showing, that she was going to bed or that she could occasionally be clean. "What's wrong?" She asked a few seconds later when he hadn't said anything else. Jon still hesitated to move away from the door, he hadn't expected to be here for more than a few minutes, so he just shrugged before he started talking.

"You know where I'm going tomorrow?"

"Everyone in the fleet knows where you're going Jon. Be safe, OK?" Erika smiled a little, taking a few steps closer to him. He couldn't help but find those words to be a little ironic considering where he was going, where he was taking his ship.

"I intend to be. As safe as you can be hunting a genocidal weapon." The words slipped out, and instead of being angry with him Erika just stepped closer and lifted his chin a little, stopping him looking at the ground.

"Jon." She scolded lightly once he met her eyes. Once he did that he knew that she was inside his mind. She knew what was going on in his mind, so if he wanted to tell her, there was no better time.

"Sorry." He muttered, and took hold of her hand. Trying to stop her from backing off as she would try, he still knew her as well as she knew him. "I came here to tell you that I love you, still. I couldn't go without letting you know that. I made a lot of mistakes a few years ago, and I didn't fight as hard as I probably should have done, and I'm sorry for that." He did it. He managed to apologise, and tell her that he still loved her. That was why he was here, and until that moment he'd thought he would leave without saying it. Erika surprised him by chuckling and shaking her head, and he wondered briefly what made her laugh.

"You shouldn't be, we both played our part. You are going to do something important, something that matters. How about I make you a promise, I'll be here when you get back. To welcome you home."

"I hope I come home."

"You will, Jonathan. Believe that and it will be true." She smiled, and the advice was something she'd given him hundreds of times before. Before any mission, any test, and any meeting with her brother. This time though, it didn't lift him.

"You don't know that." He shook his head, there was no guarantee that he would make it back from this mission, and she knew that. She couldn't know that he would make it home.

"Yes I do." She stepped up and kissed him on the cheek then wrapped her arms around him, and he couldn't help but hold onto her tightly. She had always had more confidence in him than he'd had in himself, so if she said he would make it home, he'd choose to believe her.

“If I don’t come back, don’t argue, will you tell my mom?” He asked, and it struck her how hard this request must have been for him to ask, and that was no chance she could refuse him. She nodded against his chest and squeezed him gently. “Thanks” He uttered a second later.

She stepped back after a few minutes of holding him and smiled sadly. "Be safe Jon, I love you." She kissed her hand and placed it against his cheek. Stepping back inside her apartment door and hovering before saying anything again. "I'll write you."

"I love you." He said again, returning her sad smile and turning away, running down the stairs and hoping to be several floors away before she shut the door. No longer able to hold himself in check any longer. He only hoped that Erika's assertion that she was going to be waiting when he got home was prophetic. That was something he could hold onto at the very least.


	6. Chapter 6

The private mess hall where she had been asked to come and eat today was surprisingly quiet. Captain Jennings wasn't usual for having guests to eat, preferring to eat alone almost universally. She didn't entirely blame him, especially at the moment. Everything was so much more difficult for the commanding officers of the fleet right now. So she'd been quite surprised to get the offer of a meal from him.

Through most of the meal they'd been almost silent. Swapping the occasional pleasantry. She'd asked after his wife, their children. He'd asked after her mother, her brother. They'd stuck to neutral topics, maybe they'd both needed to forget what was happening at the moment. They'd both needed to look ahead to what they could do next. A lot of her discomfort was waiting for news from _Enterprise_ , she knew the entire fleet was doing the same, but she couldn't help but feel she was waiting just to know that Jonathan was OK.

His visit a couple of weeks earlier had just made it harder for her to pretend she wasn't going to be waiting for him when _Enterprise_ returned. That much had been decided in that short visit, and she wasn't going to regret making that pledge. She was a million miles away when she realised that she was being watched, had the Captain picked up on her mental absence? Would it really matter if he had? Probably not, but she still wanted to come back to the room and let Jonathan get on with his mission, even if it was only in her mind.

"Erika?" Jennings said a few minutes later, once again taking her away from her internal monologue, it was all she could do to keep looking at him and not blush.

"Yes sir?" She replied, as soon as she was certain she could say the words professionally and not sound like a four year old with a high pitched squeak. That was the best she could hope for right now, surely.

Jennings studied her a minute longer, and she tried not to be off-put by the intensity with which he did. She wasn't sure what was going through his mind, but she was sure she'd learn quickly enough. "You know you've become the favourite to get the 02, right?" He asked, the question seeming to settle somewhere between serious and rhetorical, and Erika wasn't certain at first how to answer, so she stopped for a second and the answer seemed obvious. 'Stick to the facts, Hernandez' she mentally muttered to herself, hoping that would give her enough of an answer.

"I knew I was in the running, I didn't know I was the favourite." She answered, and that was the truth. Forrest had given her the impression that if she had agreed she might be the favourite, but that didn't automatically mean he was right. She had been happy enough just to know that she was in the running at all, especially for a ship she had been so heavily involved with the testing of.

"You've been a commander for 10 years, it's a long time at a single rank, I just hope you're ready for it. Command can be hard, and it's often lonely." Jennings warned, and she understood what he was trying to say. She knew from his example that a Captain had to trust his senior staff completely, but they were the staff. She knew that many like Jennings held to the belief that they were your crew, not your friends. She wasn't sure she could be that kind of a Captain. She needed the friendship she had with her colleagues to inform her ideas. She was fairly certain this wasn't the moment to discuss the difference in philosophy, so she stayed quiet, waiting for him to go on. "I've benefitted from having you as my right arm for the last few years. So I know you have the talent to be an XO, but you might not have the talent to pick an XO who will do for you what you and your predecessors did for me." He waved a hand slightly as if indicating the 5 Commanders who he had sat in this room with before, and all she could do was narrow her eyes and wonder what he was talking about. "You need to pick someone as your XO who will compliment you, but also challenge you, make you think twice about your decisions, all without saying anything. I think the reason you've stayed at commander so long is that you're particularly skilled at that."

That was definitely a compliment, or maybe a criticism. It was possibly both, though she didn't think it was a criticism. Unlike the other members of the NX team, she hadn't been desperate to get a command straight out of the gate, and she was happy where she was. So she accepted the compliment. "Thank you sir."

He smiled and gave her a nod before he continued, a smile on his face. "Your XO will annoy the hell out of you most of the time, but you'll be glad you have them."

"Thanks?" She jokingly asked, already knowing that Jennings had meant it as praise, but she had to continue as she normally would.  

"You're welcome. Have you had any ideas about who you'd take as your XO?" He queried, and she was pulled up short, she'd thought of a couple of possibilities for if she was given a ship. She had friends on almost every ship in the fleet, and she had only two firm possibilities right now, but she was fairly sure who she was going to pick, she'd already picked, really.

"I was thinking of either Commander Harkins or Lieutenant Fletcher." She answered. She'd never worked with Harkins, but the friends she'd contacted had given him high praise. There was still a chance for him, she guessed, but Veronica was her first choice, her only choice really.

"Harkins, from the _Glasgow_?" Jennings asked, the expression on his face one that told her he wasn't much of a fan of the commander. She hadn't even thought about looking up Harkins' service record yet, maybe she should have done.

With a little trepidation she nodded, not really sure if she wanted to continue with what she'd been about to say, but she was committed not. She should just get it out. Then Jennings could tell her his issues and she could weight it accordingly. Jennings' opinion of her candidates for XO did matter to her, even if she did eventually pick one he didn't approve of. "Yes sir. I've heard good things about him, and his CO believes he's ready to be an XO."

"The man's an idiot. Lawrence just wants rid of him." He shook his head, and Erika just tilted her head slightly, wondering how that conclusion had been met. Jennings seem to catch on to her confusion and shrugged ever so slightly before continuing with what he'd been saying. "He was a junior security officer here when he was an ensign. I've never been happier to get someone off my ship as when he moved to the _Glasgow_."

"He's off the list." She waved a hand in front of her face. If there was first-hand experience of the issues with Harkins she wasn't going to dismiss them.

"Fletcher though, I'm presuming you mean our senior pilot Veronica Fletcher?" At that, Jennings broke into a smile, and she felt like he wasn't going to have any issues with that choice. Maybe some words of caution, but hopefully he approved of her choice.

"Yes sir. I've known her a long time, we work well together."

"She'd be a good choice. She's a little fiery though. There is a chance that she still needs to develop." He said, and all she could do was nod and think about how she had been when she had come to the Republic. After her career being almost exclusively on one project run by commanders and overseen from time to time by a commodore, she hadn't been ready to slip into the hierarchy of a ship. That was surely a point she could argue, especially when it was for something that she believed was best for her.

"I needed to develop when you took me on. I'd been on the NX team for many years, serving with officers at a similar rank to me. Largely running our own show. I hadn't been an XO and I hadn't served shipboard for many years. You taught me a lot in the 3 and a half years I've served under you, sir. If I can give Veronica the same chance then it's only fair, she deserves it."

"You're right. You were more of an argumentative XO those first few months, you were so used to doing things your own way. But you grew on me, changed my way of thinking on more than one occasion." Jennings trailed off with a laugh, and she remembered all the private arguments they'd had over the various decisions she'd disagreed with. Particularly those that happened after raids on outlying colonies.

"Someone had too."

Jennings' expression softened as he finished his dessert. She had already finished, but had enjoyed sitting there talking this all over. "You're going to be a great Captain, Erika. Trust me on that. All my XOs have gone on to be great Captains. You might just be the best."

"Thank you, sir. For everything."

"You deserved it, Commander. Sleep well."

She nodded and turned out of the dining room, thankful for the conversation, and the pep talk from her current CO. It had seemed like a long time since someone had told her something in quite such an honest tone. She felt like she'd been prepared for the job she was possibly being thrust into, the idea wasn't the easiest or the best right now, but she was certain she could do it. If she was given the NX-02 she knew she'd be able to do what was asked of her, and all of a sudden it hit her. She wanted that ship. She really, really wanted it.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so bad at updating I am so so sorry!

"There is more unrest in Brisbane." Admiral Aurora Weatherington told him, walking into his office unceremoniously and handing him a PADD. It was a good job he was used to the way the Admiral worked, otherwise there could have been problems. He was a Staff Admiral, and there were certain protocols that were supposed to be observed. Aurora regularly overlooked them, and claimed that those in the security division worked on tighter timescales than most of the rest of Starfleet. What worried him was that she was probably right.

"You'd have thought the Aussies' would live up to their reputation and been the laid back ones about this." He sighed. Sitting back and motioning to the seat opposite him. He was glad she took it, for once, instead of hovering around the room as she usually did.

"They've only been in the union 10 years, they are talking about secession." That worried him. The union was necessary to the entire planet, and they couldn't lose any one part. What worried him even more was that a third day of trouble in Australia was beginning to show a pattern. The first day had been in Victoria, then in Melbourne. Now Brisbane. It hadn't spread to Canberra yet, nor Sydney. The two big cities in global news.

"They wouldn't do that it would essentially by societal suicide." He scoffed, there was a certainty to that, he hoped, because they needed Australia as much as Australia needed them.

Aurora just looked at him with an even look, and he knew this was where her visit really came in. As usual. Either a request or a suggestion as to what he should do with the Security Service. It was often overlooked, but this time he felt she was going to put her foot down. The look on her face told him that much. "Then they are going to need help."

He stared her down for a few seconds, and quickly realised he was losing. "Fine, I'll talk to Black. We'll pledge the Starfleet Security Service to helping stop the unrest in Australia and hope it doesn't spread to the rest of the world." He muttered the last as quietly as he could, as if saying it too loudly would automatically make it begin all around the world.

It seemed that Weatherington was happy with that response though, as the businesslike demeanour dropped. He gave her a questioning look, wondering what was going on in her mind. She sat forward after a second and picked up the design model of the NX-01 he had on his desk and studied it for a second before she asked the question seemingly offhand, but Forrest had been playing this game long enough to know what she was really doing. "Have you thought any further on the NX-02?"

"I have, who are you backing?" He turned the question back on her. Wanting to know where she was leaning before he said anything. He had only met two people who’d already had an idea. Most of those he knew were waiting on him to announce who he was backing. Much like with Jonathan, he was certain that whoever he eventually picked and put forward was going to be the Captain. He had the deciding vote, it seemed.

Aurora once again seemed to be thinking along the same lines as him, and hopefully that meant she’d get behind Erika too. When he announced in two weeks. Though he’d plant the seeds now, so it wouldn’t be a total surprise when it announced. "Whoever you are backing. Commander Roslin from the Thatcher is a name being touted as who you're behind." She pressed, obviously determined to leave this meeting with a name.

"I'm behind one of my officers." He said simply, which narrowed the choice to three. To anyone with a logical mind, it was narrowed even shorter, down to one. His choice. She would either have to think about it, or stay clueless long enough that he’d just tell her in the end.

Straight away she figured that it was one of his old team. The ones who had helped test, build and design the ships that were going out into deep space. "Another NX team captain, is that fair?" She asked, and he couldn’t help but wonder where these questions were when the ship had been going to AG Robinson, without so much as a vote. Everyone had just known he’d get it. It would have been a unanimous vote. He felt it was time to give the last member of his team a chance to shine.

"We were going to give it to AG, that was unanimous." He pointed out to her, wondering if she’d even thought of it before.

"He'd proven himself. Gardner then, or Duvall? Though Duvall already has his own ship." She mused out loud, and he was annoyed at her for leaving out the other name. He wasn’t sure why she did either. But that was the answer, and he’d lost patience quicker than he probably ordinarily would have done.

"Hernandez."

Weatherington looked at him with yet another confused look on her face. "From the Republic. I was told she wasn't interested." She asked, and he narrowed his eyes, wondering who was spreading this stuff. Every commander in the fleet was ‘uninterested’ if you listened to the scuttlebutt. That wasn’t true, as far as he was aware everyone was interested, but he felt there was still only one choice.

"She is. I've spoken to her, and she's who I'm pushing for." He said, tapping his fingers on the desk in time to a rhythm in his mind. After a few seconds contemplating a smile grew on her face.

"The vote is in 8 weeks, will she be ready?"

"She's been a commander for 10 years, she's more than ready. She has a passion for this too. Something I'm not sure the others can claim. Gardner and Duvall are both married, they have children. Erika isn't and doesn't." He pointed out. He knew what had lead to her being in that position too, but she had sworn that wasn’t even going to be an issue. He was sure that there were many other issues that would derail the mission, and the last one would be a defunct relationship.

"I thought she was married?" Aurora asked, tilting her head slightly and narrowing her eyes slightly.

"No, you're thinking of someone else.  I think she's who we should back."

"I'm taking your word for it.” She smiled before standing up, waiting for him to wave her off before she was officially dismissed.

"See you at the briefing of the security service tonight." He nodded as she turned away back in the direction of her office in the Security building. He now knew he'd have the security Admirals on his side, along with his command Admirals he had enough votes to make sure Erika would be commanding the NX-02. He just needed to hope nobody got cold feet between now and then.


	8. Chapter 8

Erika sat in her usual corner of the mess hall, close enough that she could see Chef and whatever he was making but far enough away that she hopefully wouldn’t be noticed by anyone. She was just reading what was on her PADD and trying to take all of the information in. It was a lot of info, and she wasn’t paying the most attention, being too easily distracted by the people around her and by the desire to read the letter she’d gotten again. She was actually about to flip to it when she realised that she had been joined at her table. It didn’t take long for Erika to realise that it was her best friend joining her, and she already knew she was going to be questioned incessantly now. “So, you got a letter?” She asked only a few seconds later, and Erika already felt like it.

“I did, late last night.” She replied as nonchalantly as she possibly could, if only so that she didn’t draw attention to the fact that she’d gotten one. There were several families who had gotten letters the last couple of days, she wasn’t special. But Veronica was going to treat her as if she was, because it would embarrass her, and that was Veronica’s favourite thing.

Sure enough, only a second later Veronica was grinning and that panicked Erika just a little. She was far too used to that look coming across Veronica’s face whenever she was going to really tease Erika about something. “Memorised it yet?” She asked, the smirk just growing, and Erika had to put her PADD down so she didn’t hit herself in the face with it.

“I’m not that pathetic.” She moaned, trying not to look too much like she had. She had spent the majority of her night reading it before she'd fallen asleep. It had been nice to get a letter from Jon. Any letter. She hadn't been expecting to get one from him.

“You can be." Veronica teased a little more, then reached out and squeezed Erika's hand, letting her know that she wasn't alone for it at all. It was hard sometimes for her to remember that at the moment. She was so focused on what she needed to do she forgot her friends. Veronica looked sympathetic and stopped teasing, turning it serious for her. "So how is he?”

“How did you know it was from him?” She asked, they both knew that her letter was from Jonathan, and they both knew that she'd been missing him recently. It was ridiculous, considering how long they'd been apart, but she missed him as a friend.

Veronica just narrowed her eyes and looked out of the side of her eyes at her for a minute. “Because you’ve had a little spring in your step all day. I thought you were staying just friends.”

“We are, I can still be happy to hear from him. It sounds rough out there, and I miss his advice.” She admitted, and she truly wanted to know what was going on with Jon's mission, and she hoped for the best. She really did miss his advice, especially knowing that she had a chance at becoming a Captain in only a few weeks. He could tell her what she needed to do and who she needed to be to get there.

Veronica seemed to be thinking about something completely different to what Erika was thinking about. Which made the jump in conversation hard for her to deal with. “I bet. I wouldn’t want to be out there.” She said, but Erika knew that was wrong, Veronica was as much into exploring as everyone else in Starfleet. So she wondered what Veronica could possibly mean. So she had to ask, it would eat at her if she didn't.

“You wouldn’t?” She leant on her chin, looking seriously at Veronica as she did.

Veronica shook her head and laughed. Which made everything even a little more confusing to her. “Hell no. Not when I know I’m not likely to come back. I like Earth, thank you very much.”

“So it's all about the fact you might not come home. You’re a wimp sometimes, Ron, we face that every time we leave the solar system."That was something they all had to accept when they signed up to the fleet. It took a lot to get out here, so losing herself or her life couldn't be something that Veronica hadn't been trained to deal. But she didn't want to dwell on that. She wanted to think about something less morbid. "The letter wasn’t much. Just telling me that he’s OK. That they’re making a little progress, about as much as they expected, and he was turned into an alien a few weeks ago.” She threw out, smiling a little as she did. She picked up her coffee even though it was cold and watched as the look of confusion crew on Veronica's face.

“Wait, what. I love how you read it like ‘normal, normal, turned into an alien’?” Erika wasn't really sure if there was a question in there, but she took it as though Veronica was asking for the details.

She couldn't say anything detailed though. She simply didn't know. However close she was to gaining her fourth pip, she didn't have the clearance to read the reports yet. “I don’t know the details, I think some of it is still classified. Apparently some species left a virus on their planet that turned any humanoid into one of them. He said he was OK, just had a rash leftover from it.” She laughed as she thought about the details of his rash, those she definitely wasn't going to share.

“How the hell did he even get himself in that position?” Veronica laughed a few moments later after she'd managed to process what she was telling her. She was leaving Veronica's imagination to run away with it for a few moments. There was a point where she wasn't going to ask.

“I’m not sure I want to ask. He wasn’t the only one who was changed. He said something about poking his XO but I am not asking about that, there are some things I don’t need to know.” She grinned at that. There were probably dozens of things that had gone on over the years Jon'd been out there doing this job.

Veronica just nodded a few more times, then looked at her seriously with a slight smile. “What are you saying when you write back?”

She stopped everything she was doing and thought. She hadn't even considered what was going to go into her reply to him. It had for some reason just gone over her head. So what she was going to say to him with it. She hated not knowing what to do. So she shrugged again and smiled. “Just that I hope he’s OK. That everything here is ticking along usually. That his mother is making me want to murder her.”

“That you miss him?” Veronica asked again with a grin. Erika realised what her friend was doing now. She was looking to see if Erika still cared about Jonathan.

“Probably not. He doesn’t need to hear that. I will be telling him to be safe though. I made a promise that I’d see him when he got home.” She waved a hand in front of her face straight away. Knowing that she didn't have anything else she should tell him right now. Anything else might distract him from his mission, and he needed to keep his mind on the mission to keep them all safe.

“Are you going to tell him that you’re the favourite for Columbia?” She was asked again, and her decision on that had been made a long time before today, and it was for the same reason she wasn't telling him that she missed him. It would distract him, and distracting him would be bad for them all.

“Definitely not. He can find that out when he gets home.”

Veronica nodded and stood up, clearly having finished her food. “Tell him I say hey, and that I hope he doesn’t die too painfully.” She groaned and placed her hand on her forehead. It was not at all fair for her to say that, but Jonathan would probably enjoy the black humour in the situation.

“You’re a ray of sunshine, Veronica, thank you.” She muttered quietly.

“It’s a part of my charm. I’m due on the bridge. I wanna read this alien story later.”

“I’ll think about it.” She shouted across the mess as Veronica got to the door, eliciting confused and slightly concerned looks from some of their fellow crewmates. Not that Erika cared, and she knew that Veronica could not have cared less. She felt like she was going to be shouted at to let her best friend read this letter for a while, and she was definitely sending Jon the direct quote of Veronica’s greeting. It would make him laugh, and he probably needed that where he was.


	9. Chapter 9

The staff briefing had been a rather laid back affair this week. Despite the escalating instances of unrest around the world, each being stopped within a few hours by the combined security services. That was what the admirals had focused on all through the briefing. Forrest knew there was something unspoken going on, but he wasn’t going to bring it up. There was a lapse in conversation between the last point, and everyone just looked around awkwardly. Until, true to form, Aurora Weatherington stood up, and Forrest knew what was coming instantly. "There is an elephant in the room, and nobody seems to have had the guts to address it. I know it's only been a few months since Enterprise left for the Expanse, but we need to start putting a plan of action together for if we don't hear from them."

Jessop was the first to disagree once Weatherington had sat down. Jessop was the most pacifistic in the room, and he tried to avoid the violent action at any cost. There was a reason he’d been left in research and design for years. "We don't even know when the Xindi were going to launch."

"We knew it was going to be roughly a year, we can't save everyone. So who do we save." Palmeiri was the next one to speak. He was usually quiet, but he was the disaster co-ordinator. This was the one subject where he would have to be on both sides of, the elected committee and Starfleet’s brass.

He had to admit, the constant negativity was getting him down. There was a distinct chance that Enterprise was still going to be able to complete her mission. It hadn’t been long enough for them to be counting Jonathan Archer out. "You're assuming Enterprise will fail."

The collective sigh from around the room was loud enough to sound like a strong wind, and all he could do was shake his head, until Palmeiri spoke again. "Max I know he's one of your officers and you have a loyalty to him, but I think no matter what we need to have a plan for the worst case scenario."

"If we discover that Enterprise has failed or been destroyed?" Ceredigion was the last one he’d expected to speak up. She was the quietest of the Admirals, but also probably the one with the most influence over the others. She didn’t do much in the meetings, but one on one she was hard to argue with. It was a valuable tool that Starfleet often used, so hearing her talk in an actual meeting showed the gravity of this situation.

Wetherington was, as usual, the one loudest in her agreement. "Exactly. We need to make a plan to get the government officials and crucial personnel off planet at the first sign of the weapon." Forrest was already getting fed up of hearing the bickering about this. But it was probably an argument, or discussion, they’d all needed to have. Just to see who was in which camp.

"What about Luna, or Mars? We can't assume that the Xindi would be happy just leaving them." Forrest wasn’t even sure who said that on, as he sat with his eyes closed, trying to ignore everything that was going on, he should have been paying attention, but his input didn’t seem to matter.

"Their disaster committees have all been notified. They need to give us a plan by the end of the month. That gives them 4 weeks to make the hard choices we're going to have to make."

"What constitutes crucial personnel?" Was another question that Forrest was glad he’d never have to answer. It was up to those above him to decide on that. He might have as much say as the others, but he also believed in Jon and Enterprise’s ability to complete the mission they’d been tasked with.

"We need to figure that out too."

Forrest finally decided it was time to speak up and end this stupidity before it ended up splitting the entire admiralty. "I think this is still premature. We should let Earth's disaster committee do its job and give us their recommendations at the end of the month. That is their job. They were elected and chosen to make those decisions. We weren't. We can't all claim to be objective either."

Greg Black, the supposed chairman and Chief of Staff said, speaking up for the first time since the last order of business had been announced. "Max is right. We're jumping into this too early. The meeting at the beginning of next month will deal with that. We have one last item of business. The Captain of Columbia." That was one topic that Forrest had a vested interest in, so he sat up straighter and smiled, catching the eyes of a few of those around him.

"I like that we named the ship before we gave her a Captain." Came a muttered comment from the back of the room which everyone ignored. Forrest smirked again though, a large part of the naming decision had been his, and the next 4 ships were named too.

Black blinked a couple of times then carried on. Only giving a passing mention to the name of the ship. "That's still top secret. There are only two recommendations for this, Admiral Harvey has put forward Commander Billings and Admiral Forrest has put forward Commander Hernandez."

Palmeiri sat up again at that with a confused look. He seemed to look around everyone in the room before he could find the words to speak. "Hernandez? As in Erika Hernandez?  She's still a Commander? She should get it purely on patience. She's been in Starfleet as long as me."

"As long as all of us, but I know what you mean. George, want to talk about why you think Billings is a good choice." Black directed to Harvey, who made it quite clear instantly that he knew nothing said in this room would change the decisions.

"Greg, let's not pretend what is said here makes any difference. We all know that we've been shoring up support for our respective choices for months now. The fact Billings and Hernandez are the only two that lasted to this meeting says that they either have half the votes, or people have been playing favourites. So why don't we just vote?" The question was a good on, and everyone nodded in agreement.

"Fine. All those in favour of Commander Billings raise a hand." Forrest looked round and realised that well over half the hands had stayed at their sides. He watched as Greg marked the names down then nodded and looked up, having to ask the question even though everyone in the room now knew the result. "And all those in favour of Commander Hernandez." Every hand that had been down shot into the air, and Forrest smirked a little to himself, glad he'd gotten his way again. He even shared a brief look with Soval, who was one of the non-voting Vulcan Observers stood in the back of the room. "There we have it. Commander Hernandez has it. Congratulations Max. Do you want to be the one to tell her."

"I'll tell her, you can break the news to Captain Jennings." He smirked at that, not that Jennings was going to disagree, he’d been nothing but supportive of Erika getting a command since it had been mentioned. Everyone began packing up their things, before realising they hadn’t been officially dismissed.

"Thank you everyone. We'll see you next Monday, same time." Black dismissed them, standing up and leaving right away, giving an order that his assistant needed to have Jennings on the comm by the time he got to his office. Forrest gave Williams a similar order, hopefully sounding politer, and looking forward to how Erika was going to react to this news. She hadn't believed it would go to her, she hadn't believed that she was worthy enough. This would prove her wrong.


	10. Chapter 10

Erika woke up with a splitting pain in her head and not being completely sure where she was or how she got there. It had been a long time since she’d drank as much as she did the night before, and now she could tell she was going to spend the day regretting it. It was comfortable and warm in the bed she was in, and she was already sure that the lump sleeping next to her would be Veronica. The two of them had decided to celebrate her promotion. It had turned out to be a very bad idea.

Veronica moaned and pulled back the covers, confirming her suspicions. Veronica blinked a few times in the light of the small lamp Erika had turned on and grabbed at her head. “How much did we drink last night?” She asked, Erika hoped beyond all hope that it was a rhetorical question because no matter how hard she thought, she would never know.

“Too fucking much. That much I know.” She groaned herself then sat up. Looking around her quarters and noticing the state of chaos they were in. Not that it had been that much cleaner beforehand. She was going to need to clean up, and pack. Soon.

“Are we on Republic?” Veronica asked a second later, still clearly getting used to the fact she was conscious again. Erika looked around and confirmed beyond doubt that they were on Republic. In her quarters no less.

She worked through the night logically, until it got fuzzy. She remembered they’d gotten friendly with the pair who were security. They must have brought them home. “Someone must have found us. Lets not do that again.” She suggested. Rubbing her forehead again then climbing over Veronica to get to the bathroom. She left the door open a crack so she continue her conversation. “It was a bad idea. Never again.”

“You mean until next time.” Veronica observed, and Erika had to give her that. This wasn’t the first time she’d sworn she was never going to go on a bender again. Obviously she’d ignored that advice several times. She did have a circumstance that would change her ability to go on benders soon.

“I’m going to be a Captain in a few weeks. My days of barhopping will be numbered then.” She grinned, and Veronica just shook her head. Erika suddenly wondered how many times the Captains she was friends with had been joining them on the benders.

“Oh no. Remember last summer, AGs birthday. He and Sam and Rob were all Captains.” Veronica said, and Erika immediately gave her the point. That had been longer and messier than she’d expected. It had also been on Proxima colony, which seemed to be the Starfleet favourite for getting drunk at. Maybe it was all the local ales that had a higher alcohol content than almost anywhere else.

Erika then grimaced as she stepped away from the sink and into her living area, shaking her head. There were definitely similar, and she couldn’t deny that. That night had ended in much the same way too, and the next morning had too.  “We woke up in a very similar position then too.”

“Only I was naked then. Something about spin the bottle and extra tequila.” Veronica frowned trying to remember all the details of the night. As far as Erika knew she hadn’t been present for that. She did remember having a heart-to-heart with AG on the balcony and coming in to find Veronica naked shouting ‘I AM THE CHAMPION’ then singing Queen. But at the time Erika had been laughing too hard to ask how they had gotten to that point.

“I don’t remember much of that night.” She admitted, rather than trying to explain what she did remember. She wasn’t sure if Veronica had been told about that night from the boys, but she wasn’t going to inform her of her drunk stupidity until she needed something for her. Blackmail was always a prefered way of getting information from someone unwilling.

Veronica seemed to realise that Erika was holding something back, but she didn’t think her friend was going to press when she was hungover. “I don’t remember much of last night. Are you really going to be a Captain?” Veronica asked, and Erika realised she hadn’t actually told her that she had gotten the captaincy of Columbia. Not everyone knew the name yet,but she was happy saying it. It made it all seem more real.

“I’m getting Columbia.” She grinned, and it only took Veronica a second to realise that she meant the NX-02. Veronica tugged her back to the bed and gave her a tight hug then let go again enough for them to talk.

“AG would be proud.” She whispered quietly, and Erika knew that she was right. It had been AG’s ship in everyone’s mind from it’s inception, pretty much. It probably would be until the first day she could walk onto that bridge and know it was her ship. “You better be hiring me as your pilot.” Veronica added more cheerfully, so they didn’t linger on the friend they’d lost.

“I’m going one better.” Erika nodded, already knowing that this was the one recruitment decision she wasn’t going to change her mind on.

“What?” Veronica asked, an extremely suspicious tone to her voice. Whether she thought that Erika was going to offer something slimy or tell her that the Operations manager they both hated from Jupiter would be her Quartermaster or something.

So she decided to leave the moment lingering, letting the panic on Veronica’s face grow a little until she answered. “How’d you fancy getting a third pip. Coming being my XO?”

“Are you serious?” Veronica’s mouth hit the floor, and Erika ended up falling off the bed as she laughed at her expression. It was the story of their night, Erika had meant to have one drink and give Veronica the job offer. Instead here they were, hungover, in their blues, on her bed- or floor in her case.

“I tried to ask last night but chocolate schnapps and baileys happened and then those brain shots and those cocktails and I kind of lost the night around the Brannigan you made me drink.”

“I made you drink a Brannigan? Cool.” Veronica looked happy about that, then all of a sudden her face went serious again, and Erika wondered what was going on in her mind. “When will you be leaving?” She asked quietly, and Erika paused. She hadn’t really thought much about when she’d be leaving to take command. In one way she hadn’t actually even thought much about leaving the Republic. Whatever time she had left here, it probably wasn’t going to be enough.

“Next time we’re back on Earth, I guess. I spoke to the Captain yesterday right after Forrest called me. He said I could take anything I wanted.” She grinned at that. That was how she’d decided on the two most important members of his crew.

“So you’re stealing his pilot.”

“And his chef. I’m bringing Chef with me.” She laughed as Veronica air-punched the shelf above Erika’s bunk and winced in pain. All it did was make Erika laugh again.

“Good. I’d hate to train a new one.” She said through the pain. “You’re gonna be the same rank as Jon in a few weeks. Is that going to change anything for you?” She asked, and Erika suddenly realised she was fed up of always being asked how her rank was going to affect her relationship with Jon. To her, it probably wasn’t going to change anything. They were friends, and that was it.

“What is it with you and harassing me about a relationship with Jon. We’re just friends. Leave it.”

“Sorry, didn’t realise I’d hit a sore spot. You should still tell him though. He’d be happy for you.” She said, and Erika couldn’t disagree with her. Jon would be happy for her, and he’d want to give her advice and tell her how hard it was being in the centre seat. At least she was always going to have someone to help her through it all. She wasn’t going to be doing it all alone.

“I will tell him. When he gets home. Now. Are you coming with me or not?”

“Of course I am. Don’t ask stupid questions.” Veronica snapped, and all Erika could do was burst out laughing and shaking her head. At least she had two positions on the ship filled. The only two she knew she had something for. The rest were going to take a while, but the ship was still 9 months from launch, at the minimum. She had plenty of time to assemble her cast of players. She also had time to think about it without a hangover. She really needed to stop drinking.


	11. Chapter 11

The crowd around the main entrance to Starfleet appeared to be growing by the second, and there was no chance she was going to be able to get to the gate. She'd known that arriving late was never going to be a good thing, but somehow she hadn't expected to be caught up in whatever protest was beginning. She groaned as this part of the crowd swelled again, and she ended up being stepped on, twice, by someone clearly twice her size. "Hey, ouch." She shouted, clearly loud enough for him to hear her even over the sound of the growing crowd around her.

He just looked down and smirked a little, and Erika regretted slightly that she was wearing a coat over her uniform, maybe he wouldn't have been quite so creepy if it was obvious she was an officer. Then again, judging by this gathering, there was absolutely no guarantee of that. "Sorry lady. You shouldn't be here if you're not up for a bit of pain though."

"I'm not here for anything other than work." She muttered quietly, but apparently he was still paying attention to her, and had heard her muttered comment, at least enough of it to figure out that she meant she worked in the offices behind them.

He grabbed her shoulders and started pushing her forward, much to the dislike of both Erika and Veronica, who had been stood beside her but was now a few feet behind. Erika had been pushed through the crowd by the time she was able to shake the big guys' hands off her shoulders. "Hey, Jimmy. You wanted a fleeter?" He said before she'd had a chance to turn around, and all of a sudden she realised what was going on, and maybe she could take this as an opportunity to argue the points that those who were against the fleets' actions of recent times and make them see the reality.

"Ouch. Get off me." She shouted again as the big guy tried to grab at her, then stepped forward, more willingly than before, but hoping her facial expression spoke of how unhappy she was about all of this. She figured the guy in the middle of the semi-circle was Jimmy, the leader off this group, or at least the most vocal person. When he held his hands up the crowd quietened, enough that shouting over them would be relatively easy.

He stepped up onto his box and smiled down at her, then looked to the protesters and shouted as loudly as he could. "Hey we have a fleeter, lets listen to her." He had at least said that, so maybe people would let her speak. If she was lucky. She was about to say something when he held a hand up to her and spoke himself. "Can you explain who thought it was a good idea going around the galaxy telling people where Earth is was a good idea?" He asked, and she mentally winced. It didn't help that she was close enough to Jon to want to defend him when she knew she needed to stick to the party line about Starfleet's duty to the planet.

She shook her head and wrapped her arms around herself before she spoke. Trying to think of what she was going to say, how she was sorting this out. "That's not what anyone is doing. Yes, we have a mandate to explore and to meet new friends for Earth, but it's also our duty to protect our planet. We're patriots, not criminals." She argued the case on that point. It was something she believed in, and that she was always going to uphold when she was the one out there.

It didn't look as though Jimmy bought what she was saying, or if he did, he didn't understand exactly what she was saying. "You brought this on us." He countered, and she already knew exactly how to argue that point. There were so many examples over the course of human history where she could point to exactly how they were wrong.

"Would you be saying this to the soldiers who have protected your freedoms over the centuries?" She asked, that was exactly what was happening now, basically. Starfleet officers were out there right now trying to keep Earth safe, exactly as their ancestors had done through countless wars.

Her attention was twisted away from her when she spotted Forrest and a few security officers on the other side of the gate. She held up her hand to stop them forcing their way out. She was certain that she could get through to this group, these protestors. Forrest slowed his pace and it became obvious that he was paying attention to what was going on, before he shouted to her. "Erika, are you?" She was surprised at his using her name, then realised that he didn't want to give her rank away.

"Just a minute." She yelled back then looked back at Jimmy. "Would you tell a great-grandfather who fought in the war that it was his reason the war started?" She looked around and saw that many of the protestors were beginning to look uncomfortable, and she knew that she'd started getting through to them.  

Jimmy again was looking around and looking exactly as uncomfortable as anyone else. She just kept staring at him until he shifted uncomfortably around. She waited until he was obviously uncomfortable enough to answer her. "Well, no." He said after a while, and then he became more uncomfortable because she had the answer that she had needed to make her point.

"Aren't we just doing what they did?" She asked rhetorically. Looking out now to the crowd and almost completely ignoring Jimmy who was stood kicking a stone at his feet. She could break this protest up once and for all. "There is a ship of 81 humans out there right now fighting to keep this planet safe. Don't you dare accuse Starfleet of causing this when we're the ones trying to end it." She shouted, and they all stood looking between each other, before long people started walking away and Erika grinned to herself as Veronica sidled up to her with a similar grin.

"That was masterful." Veronica muttered a moment later. Smiling again at Erika's face and wrapping an arm around her and squeezing her shoulders.

"Well done." Forrest said to her as he came through the gate properly and stopped beside her. It was far too hard for her to wipe the smile off her face now, knowing that she'd managed to use her words to break up one of these protests. "How did that happen, Erika?" He asked a second later, looking around again as the last few stragglers wandered off. Including the big man who'd grabbed her and his friend Jimmy, who both shot her angry looks as they did.

"I was trying to get through, made the mistake of saying I worked here." She made a face then shook her head. "It was stupid. I know." She shrugged before Forrest could say anything to her.

"Everyone has left. You broke up the protest." Veronica smiled and clapped her on the shoulder with another grin.

Forrest nodded, seeming to agree with Veronica. It helped that it had been easier to tell everyone in the world that Starfleet was doing the right thing, than to accept that there might have been a problem. "I wish we had a hundred people who could think on their feet and send them around the world." He told her then started away, before Erika looked back and the question she had was one she'd last thought about.

"If you don't mind me asking, how did you know about this admiral?"

He shrugged and this time his grin was the mischievous one. "You were on the news. Hopefully they'll play your soundbite a few more times. Let the rest of the world hear what you said. I'll see you in a few minutes." He smiled and turned away, leaving the two women to say a more private goodbye. Erika was silently glad he knew that she needed to do this too.

Veronica realised what it meant as well, and waved to Forrest as he walked away. Then she looked back to Erika, who felt a little bit awkward all of a sudden. She and Veronica had served together for 8 years, and even though they would be serving together again in a few weeks, but the time apart was gonna be a bit weirder than usual. "You gotta go? I'll see you soon." Veronica's last comment sounded like both a question and a goodbye, but she was smiling at least.

Erika patted Veronica's shoulder and smiled as she widely as she could. "In a few weeks you'll be here to take your position up." She knew that was going to be the important thing, it would actually probably be another 6 months before Veronica would be pulled off the Republic to come and start her training for command, but it was coming up and Erika was going to keep thinking of it in weeks rather than months.

Veronica nodded again and smiled sadly a little. "It's not gonna be the same on Republic without you." She smiled, and Erika nodded, she felt like it wasn't going to be the same not leaving with the Republic too.

"See you soon, Ronnie." She smiled and hugged her friend tightly. It did feel strange to be leaving the Republic and setting up on Earth again, but she knew her official promotion was only a few weeks away now, and being on Earth meant she would be on hand for any decision about her ship. From this point forward any decision was going to have to go by here, and that was simultaneously exciting and terrifying.


	12. Chapter 12

For some reason Erika hadn’t been looking forward to Christmas this year, and suddenly as the day had dawned she’d remembered why. She’d been to midnight mass the night before, and had met Sam at the morning service before coming home after caroling. It felt a little lonely just being the two of them. Since the beginning of the NX programme 13 years earlier the officers had spent Christmas Day together. Their jobs had kept them in San Francisco, so they’d become a defacto family. Even once the project had wrapped up, the tradition had remained, and had generally included a recorded message from Jonathan for them all to share. This year her living room just seemed empty, but at least she had someone to get drunk with. "So it's just you and me." Sam muttered as he did the gentlemanly thing and passed her one of her own beers after checking the oven for the third time in an hour.

"It seems like we've lost everyone this last year." She muttered, realising her dark mood was slipping in to everything. She reached forward for the table top system that controlled the monitor in her living room and put a random film on, then realised that Sam was just watching her. “What?”

"Jon will be back soon E, Veronica the same." He told her before gently pushing her away a little with a smile. “They’ll be back and maybe next Christmas we’ll all be together. or you and Jon will both be sending videos home about your intrepid adventures.” He grinned, and it was obvious he was trying to cheer her up, but for some reason she wasn’t letting herself be cheered up.

"Not AG though." She commented, and Sam just looked at her before patting her on the head. She shook her head slightly then went back to focusing on whatever movie it was on the screen. She didn’t know and she didn’t much care what it was, but she was determined to try and let it push the annoyance and the sadness out of her.

After a few minutes she realised she was mumbling at the movie, and Sam just took her arms and turned her around to face him properly before he spoke. "You're particularly maudlin today E?"

"Sorry Sam. It's been a really shitty Christmas so far. I miss Jon, and I miss Ronnie, and I really miss AG."

"It's 11am and we’re drinking. So it might get better. You’re perfectly allowed to miss our friends, I miss them too. But at least we’re not alone this Christmas." He smiled and she had to agree with him. While she did miss their friends, she knew that she’d probably check her messages later and find that Jon and Veronica would have both sent her a little something for Christmas. Jon would have had to plan his for weeks to try and make sure it arrived on time. She was still light years away thinking when she hear the chime for her door ring twice before Sam nudged her. "Who's that?"

She shook her head with a grin as she jumped off the sofa and looked to the door. "Because I can see through floors. Let me run down I'll be right back. Don't let the turkey burn." She shouted back as she jogged to the door. She was halfway down the hall when she heard his response.

"It's 11am!"

She stopped on the corridor and turned around just to shout back at him. Sam really couldn’t be trusted in the kitchen, then again she hadn’t had much luck herself. She really sucked at cooking, and she was sure that one way or another that the turkey was going to end up burnt. "I watched you burn toast once." She turned away and ran down the stairs, unable to hear Sam’s response as she did.

She opened the door and almost dropped to the floor. She looked at her latest visitor and almost screamed. She couldn’t say anything but it seemed Veronica figured that out straight away so spoke first. "So, I heard you were missing a Christmas regular." She started and then just held the two bags she carried up slightly. There was one thing Erika had to do, that was one thing that had existed since the NX programme. She poked her gently in the cheek then grinned.

"Oh my god, Veronica!" She shouted then almost jumped on her best friend. It was surprising to see her, because she knew that the Republic was still meant to be out on patrols.

"What's going on?" Sam shouted, clearly having heard Erika’s unwilling scream and coming to the top of the stairs.

"Veronica's here! Come on up." She waved Veronica after her, but left her friend to carry her own bags. It was the least she could do for her friend.

“Wait she’s here? You’re here.” Sam replied as he got to the top of the stairs and leant against the banisters watching them jump up the last few of the steps.

Veronica just grinned and looked at what Sam was doing. “Hey Sam. Figured you two would be lonely without me.” Veronica dropped both the bags by the door then flopped onto the sofa right where Erika had been sat a few minutes earlier. As soon as Sam had sat down and picked up his beer Veronica looked over at her and smiled slightly evilly, and Erika suddenly knew that she should be worried, really worried. “Oh Erika you’ll never guess who I saw at my pass through headquarters. Mrs. Archer.” She was at least glad that she hadn’t left a long pause before answering.

“Oh please god tell me nobody gave her my address. Wait, she knows my address Jon lived here for three years.” She sighed a little, and frowned. Because while she loved Jonathan, and always had, his mother was hard work.

“That was 4 years ago, she may have forgotten.” Sam said, clearly trying to keep her in the good mood that she’d developed once she’d seen Veronica, her maudlin mood was still there, but it was distracted for a little while at least.

“I don’t think that woman has forgotten anything in her life.” Almost the second those words came out of her mouth the sound of the door chime sounded again. “Oh shit.” She muttered, and tried to remember why she hadn’t replaced the buzzer that Jon had broken on her 30th birthday, but she couldn’t think exactly why now.

She still managed to hear Sally’s shout through the door. “Erika. Erika I know you’re here.”

“Should I be afraid?” Sam asked, looking between the two women and frowning.

“Ever met Jonathan Archer’s mother, Sam?” Veronica asked, and it looked obvious that she was going to mock Sam until Erika made her way back upstairs.

“No.” He said, and Erika ran off a little before they pulled her back into another argument as they had for years.

“Then yes, be afraid. I’ll be back.” Erika ran down the stairs and open the door, trying to smile as best she could. “Mrs. Archer.” She said as she opened the door, deciding that at least in greeting she should be formal. Though she also knew that she detested being called that.

“You need to move. Too many steps.” Sally said as she stepped through the doorway into the hall, stopping just far enough in to stop the cold breeze from reaching them. Erika found herself smirking at the memory of the only other time Sally Archer had been in this building. She’d entered the same way, though that time she’d been able to complain to Jonathan and ask him why he’d moved in with Erika rather than them moving to his apartment.

“You said that when Jon lived here too. I still don’t have any intention of moving. Are you here for a reason Sally?” She asked, not wanting to sound rude, but also wanting to get to the bottom of what was happening. Sally had avoided visiting San Francisco even when Jon had been living here, so she must have had some reason for coming.

“I didn’t have anyone to spend Christmas with this year. Jon’s gone, Henry’s family are away this year, I’m the only one left from mine. I didn’t think you’d mind me coming here.” Sally sounded so downtrodden Erika couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for her. Confused, maybe, as to why she’d travel all the way across the country to spend Christmas with a woman she didn’t like, especially when Sally knew Erika celebrated a Catholic Christmas. But she wasn’t going to turn someone in need away.

“Come on up. It’s just me and a couple of Jon’s friends. You might learn things about your son you didn’t want to know, though.” She shook her head and started back up the stairs, slower than she would usually take it. So rather than being just her and Sam she now had two unexpected guests, and figuring that maybe this was something to try and keep her sane through Christmas. She was even a little happy to see Sally, maybe the two of them could record a message for Jon together. That would be perfect for Christmas, wouldn’t it?


	13. Chapter 13

Maybe she had been pushing a little close to travel back to San Francisco today of all days, but she’d wanted a few extra days leave. If Enterprise wasn’t heard from within a few weeks the evacuation of necessary personnel was going to begin, and she was on that list. Her family weren’t. So she’d stayed until she’d absolutely had to leave. So for some reason the figure of a clearly irritated Admiral Forrest at the gateway to Command was exactly what she’d been expecting when she finally found her way there. "Happy New Year." He said in a clipped tone, and she realised she might not be as easily forgiven for almost being late as she’d thought.

She decided to either add to his annoyance or alleviate it entirely, depending on why exactly he was annoyed. There was always the chance he hadn’t known she’d been a couple of states away for the last few days. "You're lucky my hangover wore off." She muttered as they started walking in the direction of the auditorium where promotions were done every few months.

That stopped Forrest in his tracks, he just looked at her and it was obvious he was debating what she’d told him to try and figure out what she meant, as everyone had left for New Year, and Erika wasn’t really one for drinking alone, Forrest knew that, she was sure. "You went home?" He asked after a few seconds and resumed walking slowly.

"Yeah, my brother got me drunk. Again. Did you think I’d slept in?" She asked, figuring out why he’d been annoyed, considering some of her previous performances that might not have been too far from the truth. She was determined to turn over a new leaf.

Forrest glared at her for a minute then nodded with a shrug. "Possibly. I should have known though. Every year it's the same when you're on Earth." He said the last with a bit of a teasing smirk, and she had to remind herself that hitting a superior officer was a bad idea, even when that superior was teasing you.

So she decided to go the underhand route and replied with as much sarcasm as she could muster. "You're surprised?"

"You're about to be promoted, you're sober?"

She just sighed and shrugged. She wasn’t a complete idiot, and she knew that she needed to be sober to take her oath of office, and that was wordy enough when you were sober, let alone when you’d had a few. She remembered the old team trying to recite it in a bar once and not one of them got it right. "It's the 4th, I haven't drank since the 1st. I'm sober." She held her hand up as if she was offering to take the test for him right there.

"You told Jonathan yet?" Forrest asked, dropping his voice to a more personal level, but all Erika could do in that moment was stop walking and staring at him. This time she was the one confused and a little incredulous.

It was too hard to believe that yet another person was asking her if she’d written to Jon to tell him about her promotion. Was she the only person on Earth that remembered she and Jon weren’t a couple any longer, and that he was engaged in a mission that he likely wasn’t going to return from to try and keep the rest of them safe. Why did they think out of everything she could tell him she’d be telling him about her promotion. In the grand scheme of things, that didn’t matter. "Why is everyone so obsessed with what I'm telling Jon?"

"Someone else asked?" Forrest looked genuinely surprised at that, and narrowed his eyes as he clearly thought about who else would have gotten to her before him. Maybe it was because today it was official he thought he’d been the first to ask.

Instead of saying yes, Erika decided that listing them off might show how annoyed she was at being asked about this. "Veronica, Sam, Rob asked me in a letter. Simon."

"Simon your brother Simon. I thought he hated Jon?" Forrest stopped at the end of the corridor, right before where they’d need to go in to join the queue, she had time while the STC kids got their commissions, and she was glad she’d missed sitting through that bit.

"One and the same, and he does, sort of. Long story.” She waved a hand and shook her head, hoping that showed that she wasn’t interested in telling that story right now. But after that minor detour, she decided to answer his question seriously. “No, I haven't told Jon, he needs to focus on his mission and he'll find out when he's back."

Forrest nodded once then smiled, clearly ready to drop the matter. He’d figure that she’d tell Jon in her own time, and that would be plenty."You know this afternoon we're having a meeting about the motto for your mission patch. Your first official job as Captain."

She felt her mouth drop open before it was followed by a laugh she was sure they could hear in the hall. Columbia was getting a motto. That was a terrifying prospect, but at least whatever language they picked she’d be able to understand it. She wondered why though, considering Enterprise hadn’t had a motto. "We're getting a motto? Enterprise didn't have a motto."

"Enterprise didn't have a linguist as a Captain.” Forrest pointed out, and Erika had to agree to that. She’d tried to teach Jon three languages and he hadn’t succeeded at any of them. Though he did develop a Spanish alter-ego he had named Ramon, which she’d found far funnier than she probably should have done. After a second Forrest smiled at her again. “Jonathan's first speech he mentioned mating Gazelles."

Erika grimaced then burst into a fit of giggles. That was one of her favourite videos, and it was probably mean of her to laugh at Jon for that, but it was funny. "Don't remind me. I can't look at him when that's mentioned, even in pictures." That was true, while it was hilarious, the second-hand embarrassment she felt for him certainly wasn’t.

"Sometimes that probably helps with Jon.” Forrest teased again then his eye was caught by someone in the hall and Erika realised this was it. It was time to go. “You ready for this? You're the only one being promoted to Captain. So you'll be last on."

"I'm ready. Thank you, Admiral." She was sincere in her thanks, Forrest had done a lot for her, and for all of his other officers, this was just the rewards he deserved.

"You earned it, Erika. You'll do well. Congratulations." He gripped her shoulders as they stopped at the end of the line. As usual the ceremony ran quickly, and a few minutes later she was Captain Erika Hernandez, which meant that her hard work was going to begin soon. She shared a look with Forrest and smiled slightly, this was just the first day, and she was already terrified.


	14. Chapter 14

For some reason, Forrest wasn’t at all surprised that his aide walked in without so much as a knock. Commander Williams had been on his side since the end of the NX programme. On the programme he’d been on Erika’s team as a lieutenant in strategic operations. Now he was Forrest’s right hand. That didn’t stop him jokingly mocking his former CO at every opportunity. “Lost your recent shadow?”

Forrest couldn’t help but grin a little. Erika had been asking advice a lot recently, but it had been all of four weeks since she’d been promoted, and there was a lot that being an XO never prepared you for. He knew that and he’d never captained a ship. There was a lot to think about. “Captain Hernandez is on her first command tour of Columbia, she’s learning still. Give her time.” Time was the best advice he could give anyone in this type of situation.

Williams nodded along then tapped his PADD on his hand. “You’re needed in the war room.” He commented then handed the PADD over. It was clear he was about to leave when Forrest realised he hadn’t actually said why he was needed in the War Room.

“Why?” He asked, watching as Williams turned round and shrugged. just looking confused that Forrest didn’t already know. Maybe that should have been a sign that he did know, but he just kept staring at Williams until he said something.

“It’s February.” He eventually shrugged, apparently completely unable to think of any other reason to explain why he was being called to the meeting, probably meaning that Williams didn’t actually know.

So he clapped his hands on his knees and stood up, deciding it might be best to face the music rather than waiting here for the other foot to drop. “I’m on my way. Direct all my calls to Erika.” He ordered as he passed William’s desk in the small antechamber before his office.

“You mean Captain Hernandez.” Williams grinned, and Forrest had to restrain himself from throwing a PADD at his head. It was annoying to have him constantly correcting when he felt like winding his boss up, but Forrest knew if he didn’t let it bother him then it would be sorted far quicker than if he continued to react. So instead he just left and made his way across the building to where the War Room was situated. The name carried over from centuries of Military Strategic Planning, and right now it couldn’t have really been much more appropriate.

He managed to pass through the security procedures with a minimum of sarcasm, for the first time he could remember, and fell in around the table. “Max, you’re here. We need another authorisation to start.” Greg Black asked the second he’d stopped and studied the table for a minute, and Forrest found himself completely taken aback by that comment. Authorisation for what?

“What are you doing?” He asked, already worried that this was something he was going to argue against, as he had been doing a lot for the last 12 months. It seemed his stance on almost everything that was going on right now was completely opposite the rest of the senior staff, but he was lucky enough to be one of the three highest ranking officers, and without his authorisation there was nothing they could do.

“Beginning to put the evacuation plan into action.” Black said, confirming Forrest’s instincts after only a few seconds. It had been such a common occurrence he wasn’t even surprised a small amount.

He pointed to the little blue flashing bit in the middle of a sector dozens of lightyears away and tried not to feel a little despondent that so many had given up on them before giving them a fair chance. The council had said they had 12 months, they still had almost 8 full weeks. “We haven’t heard any confirmation from Enterprise one way or another.”

“We shouldn’t wait for them.” Palmeiri said, the only other Admiral in the room, and the only other one with an authorisation. Palmeiri had been against the mission to begin with. He’d wanted to focus on spreading humanity out and sacrificing Earth. Forrest still didn’t believe that plan had merit, but he had to deal with Palmeiri every day, and it was easier to just humour him.

“Two months.” Forrest shot out, before anyone else could give an opinion, hoping that the time frame would give people something to focus on that wasn’t how it seemed arbitrary.

“What?” Black stopped in his pacing and looked to Forrest. Clearly saying that had gotten his attention. Whether he’d go for it or not was still debatable. Forrest was worried about what would be the decision, but he would fight for his side either way.

There was an easy way to do this. Set a timescale and make it clear he would give his authorisation if it lapsed. “Give them until the beginning of April to contact us. If they have said nothing then, we evacuate, quitely.”

Palmeiri just looked down to the table and sighed. “We can’t save the whole planet.” He said sadly, and Forrest wasn’t sure if that was an argument or a commentary. Even if they went today and the Xindi attacked, they wouldn’t be able to save everyone.

“I know, but we couldn’t save the whole planet if we went now.” He pointed that fact out, wondering if it would help in the decision making process. Because the number of lives saved shouldn’t have been a factor in the decision. That number hadn’t changed and wasn’t in their mandate to change. He would always be the one pointing that fact out when people forgot. There was a number, and that number was 10%

Black considered all that, then sighed and rubbed his temples. “You’re right. I just don’t know if April will give us enough time.”

He already had an answer to this, it was something he’d been thinking about for a while regardless of the Xindi attack. “We’ll set up a based on Tau Ceti. It’s close enough that we’ll know if anything happens that would warrant a full evacuation in time for us to implement it. I’m not signing anything that gives up on our only defence out there.”

“Max we know how you feel about-” Black started, and Forrest shook his head, already expecting the ‘loyalty’ argument. It was trotted out so often.

“It’s not loyalty, Greg. It’s me knowing that Jonathan Archer has it in him to do this, and we should give him the benefit of the doubt.” He knew beyond all doubt that this mission would be completed, the crew of Enterprise were singlehanded in their determination to finish any mission they were given. He wondered if that fact was going to weigh on Black at all.

“Fine, March 25th. Then we go into action. It’s an easy date to remember. Agreed.” Black ordered, and Forrest knew by now that you didn’t argue with anyone using that tone.

“OK.”

“Sure. We can still begin the preparations though?” Palmeiri asked, and Forrest just nodded to Black, showing that he wasn’t going to argue about it.

“Yes. Begin, do not complete until you get the order.”

“Yes admiral.” They both agreed, Forrest smiled a little, glad that for once he’d managed to win on his terms.

“Max, do you really believe Archer can do this?” Black asked as they left the War Room, stopping in the corridor a few steps away.

“It’s not a belief, Greg. I know he can do it, and we’ll know when he has.” He knew that, they would get a message as soon as he could, and he just hoped it was soon.

“I hope you’re right.” Black said before turning away and back into the War Room. Forrest knew better than to follow when he had clearly been dismissed. He hadn’t told Black that secretly, deep down, Forrest was in the same place. He hoped he was right too, and he hoped that Jonathan didn’t prove him wrong.

 


	15. Chapter 15

It hadn’t been long enough since her promotion for Erika to have figured all the ins and outs of Command yet, but somehow she still felt she should have seen this one coming. Somehow she had convinced herself that a hungover request would count as the official request and that the brass would take it on her word that Veronica had actually accepted. It turned out they needed an official communication between the two of them, even when it wasn’t recorded, so they could point to where it was.

So here she was, at 9am on a Monday morning calling through to her former stomping ground and wondering why she hadn’t just handcuffed her to the sofa and told Jennings he was going to have to do without them both. That would have solved all these issues. She played with an old rubix cube while she waited on Veronica actually answering the comm, wondering if she was even awake. The bleary face of her friend that appeared a few minutes later told her that Veronica probably hadn’t been awake. “Erika?”

“How far away is the Republic?” She asked without even sharing a platitude, that would probably have made Veronica more annoyed at being woken up, if she had to deal with pleasantries when she would just want to get the business out of the way and go back to bed. At least, she always had when Erika had been knocking on the door in a morning, she assumed the same would go for the comm.

Veronica sighed still with a touch of annoyance even with her going straight into business and clearly thought about what she was saying. “We’re on our way back but about three weeks I think, why?” Erika thought how best to answer that question without giving away the ulterior motive she’d been given for the call too, and instead decided to distract her from the conversation as it was.

“Do you know the rules about recruiting an XO in Starfleet?” She asked sarcastically, almost certain that Veronica wouldn’t have looked it up. Erika hadn’t until she’d been told that how she’d done it wasn’t technically an accepted request under the articles of the officers handbook.

“I never really cared to know.” Veronica huffed, and Erika pulled a face at the response and glared at Veronica until her friend shrugged slightly then grabbed a glass of water, holding a finger up in Erika’s direction until she’d finished it then smiled slightly. “Sorry. It’s oh-four-hundred. How do you recruit and XO?” Veronica eventually asked, and even tried to keep the sarcasm out of her voice as she did.

Erika smirked and shook her head, for some reason completely unsurprised that Veronica didn’t really care about the protocol. Veronica rarely cared about any protocols. “Well, I need to officially offer you the position.” She said, causing Veronica to narrow her eyes then burst out laughing.

“You mean you asking me hungover doesn’t count?” Veronica managed to choke out a few seconds later, shaking as she tried to bring her giggles back under control. Erika just kept watching until finally she couldn’t help but laugh a little too.

“Not according to Admiral Forrest.” She managed to choke out a few seconds later before she stopped herself from laughing any longer. It probably wasn’t an appropriate thing to be laughing about, however hilarious it had been at the time.

Once Veronica had managed to bring herself under control she took a few deep breaths before she was able to speak, then looked seriously for a few seconds before she finally got her words out. “So what are you gonna do?”

“Lieutenant Veronica Fletcher, I offer you the position of Executive Officer on the Columbia NX-02” Erika said in an official tone, figuring that was the best she could do, and considering that was basically all she needed to say nobody could complain that she hadn’t done her duty.

“I accept.” She said, then looked confused for a moment and dropped her voice to a whisper. “It’s as easy as that?” She asked, causing Erika to laugh again. For some reason Veronica had clearly thought it would require a ritual of some sort, probably sacrificing a virgin to the great god Imhotep or something similar, rather than a few simple words.

“It’s as easy as that.” She confirmed then smiled, sitting back. With that official business out of the way she didn’t feel she needed to keep sitting forward as if she had any idea what she was doing. She wondered if every other Captain in the fleet had felt so in-the-dark when they took command.

“How are things on Earth?” Veronica asked after a few seconds of silence, and Erika found herself again weighing her options, she was torn three ways, one way wanting to tell her friend what was going on, another wanting to protect her and a third that was keeping her sworn duty to keep it quiet, so instead she chose a completely random and quiet way to do all three.

“Could be better, could be worse.” She let out, sighing as she did.

“In other words you can’t tell me anything?” Veronice quickly surmised, and Erika remembered why they worked so well together. They didn’t need words to make it obvious that there was something going on, one more significant look gave them both the closure on that conversation that they needed, so Erika cast about for something to turn the conversation too.

“Yeah, basically. I’ve had two tours of Columbia now, and she’s gorgeous. Can’t wait to introduce you.” Their ship was always a good choice to turn too. The ship was due to be launched in July, and she was already excited for that.

Veronica started smiling in much the same way as Erika had been, a look of pride present on her face too. Their ship. That’s what she was. “I gotta admit I’m looking forward to meeting her.”

Erika nodded at that, then thought she best ask about Veronica’s current home, wondering how things were there. “How are things on the Republic?” She hoped that they were adjusting to the new XO, she’d been told he was good, but everyone had their individual style, and she was sure that it was going to be very different there.

“Not the same without you. Commander Willis is stricter, it’s taking time to adjust.” Veronica confirmed her suspicions a moment later, and knowing her friend she also knew what she was going to have to say, even if it was only a joke.

“You don’t need to, just don’t kill him.”

“Damn, and I had it all planned out!” Veronica joked, causing Erika to burst out laughing at the same time. It was nice to have spoken to her friend again, and she was regretting that they were going to have to end the comm soon. She still had work to do.

“I’ll see you in a couple of weeks Ronnie. I’ll be putting you straight to work. Go back to sleep.” She gave the last as an order and was about to sit forward to end the call when Veronica spoke.

“I’m sure you will. Hey, if you hear from Jon, let me know OK. I didn’t realise how starved for information I’d be without you to an-ask.” Veronica finished with a smirk and Erika heard the word ‘annoy’ long before she cut it off. At least it was nearly done. They were nearly home, all of them. She hoped.

“I will, I promise. See you soon.” She ended the comm and waited, knowing that before long she’d be being searched for. Sure enough only a few minutes later Forrest was walking into her miniscule office without so much as a knock. “Three weeks.” Erika said without the question being asked, and all Forrest did was nod and smile slightly.

“Asked officially now?”

“Yeah.”

“Then lets get to work.” Forrest smiled and headed out of the office, Erika sighed slightly then jumped to her feet. Before long she’d be out of here, and these were all the hoops she had to jump through before she was. She was sure that one day soon she’d be glad for these planning sessions, because she’d be ready for something that otherwise she’d been panicked about. For now, she couldn’t think what it would be, but she had work to do.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So. This is the last chapter in this one! This is set at the beginning of the bar scene in "Home"

They’d come to the bar to try and stop working, considering everything that had gone on recently escaping for a few drinks and a few laughs just like the old times in this bar would have been a good idea, but apparently neither of them were ready to let go of what they’d spent most of the day arguing over. Enterprise and staffing their staff. “Are you glad Enterprise is back?” Veronica asked.

“Of course I am! I worried about Jon while he was gone, and we’re not all gonna die now.” She admitted, then shook her head. “Look, can we focus on the important thing.”

They needed to staff their ship, and Veronica had vetoed all of Erika’s suggestions, at which point she’d had to remind her friend that they needed to look through all of Starfleet, not just their friends. This idea seemed to be completely foreign to Veronica, or at least it did by all the questions she was asking. “So, if we’re looking at not favouring friends that means we have to go through the ones on this list.”

“They are all good officers.” She countered a second later, and that much was obvious from the files they’d been reading. She hadn’t been stupid enough to bring them with her, but she had most of them memorised.

“You have to choose, Erika.” Veronica said with a mouth full of fries. She held her hand up and tried to hide her mouth from view.

“You have as much to do with this as I do. You’re the XO. They have to report to you.” Erika groaned, finding this harder than she’d expected and trying to remind Veronica that their fates were inexplicably tied to one-another now.

“I think you need to look at their recommendations. If they haven’t got the recommendations, they won’t have the skills for the ship. Remember your recommendation from Admiral Forrest.” Veronica pointed out, making things obvious in a way for her. Recommendations were good, but not always truthful. Erika had seen people who had got fantastic reports so others could get them off their ships.

“Yeah. So you’re saying I should look for those who only have exceptional recommendations?” Erika asked, because that felt bad to her for some reason. She understood why, but it was hard for her to accept that things happened and the exceptional recommendations were rare, she likely wasn’t going to find enough of them.

“Then the psyche profiles, see if they’ll be able to mesh.” Veronica suggested, finally pushing her plate of fries away and signalling for someone to come and take the plate away as she did.

“I don’t think that matters so much, our psyche profiles say we shouldn’t work, and we do.” She’d seen the psyche profiles between the two of them several times, and each said that Veronica was too hotheaded and Erika wasn’t likely to stand up to her. The opposite had ended up being true, they had always worked well together, and they still did.

“That’s true. OK. Psyche profiles out. How about scores?” Veronica suggested, and that was a good point. The test scores from STC were a good indicator of how an officer would do. But every Captain currently with a ship had been a good or average student. Rarely had they been exceptional students. So while she was looking at them, they weren’t going to help her either.

“I’ll be looking at them anyway. I should already have an idea of who I’m taking.” She sighed, dropping her head to her hands and groaning as deeply as she possibly could. Just wanting to be a good captain and feeling that slip away from her the longer she sat here. She couldn’t pick these officers, and she couldn’t make it work.

Veronica looked at her with a smirk and Erika had to restrain herself from throwing a glass at her friend. She stopped herself, just, and let Veronica continue smirking until she spoke. “Nobody has an idea.” She finally said, Veronica’s smile continued to grow as she did.

“Jonathan knew.” Erika replied, higher and louder than she’d planned, causing a few of those around her to look at the two of them with a little bit of confusion.

“Jon knew Trip. You recommended Hoshi to him. The rest he flailed about with Trip as much as you are with me.” Veronica countered, and Erika felt her jaw drop a little. That couldn’t be true, surely. Jon had always been so sure of what he wanted, she couldn’t believe he hadn’t planned out his entire ships crew the day he got promoted.

“How do you know that?” Erika asked, not sure if she could believe that Jon had had trouble with anything after he’d been given Enterprise, he’d been planning for that ship for so long. It didn’t seem at all believable that he hadn’t had some idea of who he was going to recruit, particularly for his senior staff.

“I got letters from Trip. I hadn’t just broken up with Jon, remember. I learnt things. Speaking of Jon.” Veronica pointed over Erika’s shoulder, and she looked round just in time to see Jonathan passing her by, not looking at anyone in the area, and stopping at the bar. She mentally debated what she was going to do for a few seconds then decided she was just going to go for it. What harm could it possibly do.

“Excuse me.” She muttered to Veronica, who it was clear had expected the interruption the second she’d pointed out the Captain entering the bar. Erika couldn’t even bring herself to feel bad about ditching her future XO, not when the situation was as it was now.

“I knew it. Ditch me.” Veronica shouted back over her shoulder after Erika, but Erika knew that she’d have someone there to talk to within a minute, and now she knew that Jon was back on Earth she might as well greet him, and talk as best they could. She thought all the way over what she should say, what she could say. It had been such a long time, and all they’d done was trade letters. So after tapping his shoulder she said the first thing that came into her mind.

“The bar’s reserved for regular customers, galactic heroes have to sit at a table.” She grinned, and felt herself cheered by the fact he smiled at her before saying anything. She’d known that he’d make it through, and somehow she’d find him through it all. She’d promised to be here when he got home, and she was.


End file.
